ODENTON, MD– For the first time, the Maryland Black Bears welcomed one of the two new teams in the east, the New Hampshire Mountain Kings. The Black Bears were very rude hosts, however, sweeping the weekend against New Hampshire in two thrilling affairs.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 20th, 2023: BLACK BEARS (4) vs. New Hampshire (3) OT: With the adrenaline from coming back home to play, Maryland did have some problems in the discipline department to start off, garnering back-to-back too many men calls and three overall in the first period. The penalty kill did their work and while four-on-four, Dylan Gordon gets the Black Bears on the board coming down from the point to put home a Mike Urgo pass to make it 1-0 Maryland. Under a minute later, however, New Hampshire ties the game up with Linas Dedinas barely getting the puck behind Colin Ronan for his sixth of the year.
In the second period, Maryland peppered the New Hampshire net, but Aidan Wright was solid between the pipes to keep the score level. It wasn’t until the halfway point when New Hampshire took the lead with Brandon Spaulding finding a loose puck in front and putting it past the outstretched arms of Ronan to make it 2-1 New Hampshire. While Maryland outshot New Hampshire 10-1, they were down 2-1 going into the third.
Trying to get some fire in the third, Luke Amell attempted to drop the gloves, but couldn’t find a willing participant and got a game misconduct for his troubles. That’s when the Maryland PK went into full effect, with Dimitry Kebreau notching his sixth of the year shorthanded after a great pass across from Evan Sofikitis to tie the game up at two. Just past the midway point, Maryland regained the lead with Adam Schankula putting home his fifth of the year with a big drive to the net and went off the pipe and in to give Maryland the 3-2 lead. Less than a minute later, again, New Hampshire tied it up with Jack Costanzo putting it over Ronan’s shoulder for his first NAHL goal. With solid chances on both sides, neither were able to find the net thanks to several blocks by the respective defenses, including Sebastian Brockman’s block late in the period to help keep the tie intact, leading this game into overtime.
New Hampshire had possession in the first part of overtime, but couldn’t muster a shot. Trayce Johnson made a beautiful defensive stop that pushed the puck to Kebreau, who found Ryder Nienhuis coming down the middle. Nienhuis ripped his shot between the wickets of Wright for the game winner in overtime, giving the Black Bears the 4-3 victory.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 21st, 2023: BLACK BEARS (2) vs. New Hampshire (1): After the excitement of Friday’s game, these two teams toned it down a bit in the first frame. Colin Ronan and Cooper Rautenstrauch both made some solid saves in the early going during the back-and-forth and were able to keep their sheet clean after 20 minutes.
Business picked up in the second, with both sides trying to get the jump on one another. Only 2:09 into the frame, the Black Bears struck first with Raymond Perrault notching his first of the season, picking up a rebound off a Ryder Nienhaus shot. While Maryland kept pressing, New Hampshire was able to tie the game with Matthew Hale snapping one to the back of the net. The Black Bears kept pressing, buzzing the New Hampshire net, which led to Kareem El-Bashir scoring his sixth of the year off a solid pass from Matthew Croxall to make it 2-1 Maryland.
In the final frame, the physical part of the game shone through with Sebastian Brockman laying the body several times to keep New Hampshire at bay. Not to be outdone, the Black Bears laid out in front of their goalie, picking up several defensive rebounds and putting their bodies on the line for some crucial blocks, including Mike Urgo’s block in the dying seconds to secure the victory and the sweep of New Hampshire.
Next up, the Black Bears travel to Danbury to take on the Jr. Hat Tricks in two matinee games Friday at 3 PM and Saturday at 3:30 PM. All action can be seen on NAHLTV.
Clutch And Crab Hockey 